Harry Potter and the Origin of Magic
by Ranma064
Summary: H/D AU Draco Malfoy is given a second chance by his father, only to get caught up with Voldemort again. Harry is determined to find out what he is up to before he accomplishes it, but finds himself falling in love with him instead.
1. Chapter 1

The crowds hurried through the rain with their umbrellas held close to their head. They attempted to stop the water from soaking their clothes; nevertheless, the water found a way to splash them occasionally. One man was not concerned by the endless puddles forming on the ground. He stomped his feet into each one without a care for the people next to him. He was glad they didn't recognize his famous scar in the rain.

His eyes shone brightly with determination, it was magnified by the bleak clouds overhead. He ran off the road onto a muddy path and tripped into the mud. The mud stuck to his clothing, but he ignored it and ran toward his destination at greater speeds.

Finally, he stopped at a large mansion; hesitation, fear, even awe for this over whelming place took his breath away. A large symbol was engraved in the steel of the gates: an "M" with a snake curled around it. Typical of the Malfoys to have such a cliche symbol for their family, he thought.

As if he already knew where he was going, Harry headed toward the side of the Manor where Hermione said the magic originated from. A blond haired man stood in front of a grave without a jacket or an umbrella. He didn't look up.

"Potter," the boy greeted him.

"Malfoy."

Harry remembered the last time he saw the Slytherin. A month ago, Malfoy let the deatheaters into Hogwarts again with the help of Theodore Nott. However, during the battle Malfoy yelled something to the deatheaters, and many of them stopped fighting the Order and turned against the other Deatheaters. He still didn't understand what happened the day. He couldn't understand why Voldemort sacrificed himself to save Draco Malfoy.

"Why did you do it?"

Narcissa vanished without a trace, Lucius was dead, and Snape was destined for a dementors kiss. There was no reason for him to help the Order. If there was, Harry didn't see it. Not only that, but Draco disappeared right after the battle.

"Why did I do what, Potter?" He asked; his voice still held that insolent tone Harry remembered since the first moment they met.

"… You know what I'm asking."

"Actually, I don't think I do." Draco stood up from the grave and turned sharply towards Harry. His eyes were bloodshot and he was unusually thin and pale.

"Just answer my question."

"Because," Draco smirked bitterly, and stood up straighter, "I am a selfish, dishonorable pureblood. That's what you all think, isn't it? I did it for my own gain. That's what your whole little group will say even if I do tell them anything."

Draco shoved past Harry but was violently pulled back by the former Gryffindor seeker. He looked angrily into the savior's eyes, "Let go of me Potter." He snarled, "Or I will kill you."

"Go ahead and try," Harry leaned in closer to the pale boy until their noses were almost touching. "I don't give a damn about you, Malfoy, and I could care less what anyone thinks of you. All I want to know is why … Why would he do that? It couldn't have been out of love, Voldemort was not capable of love. Why did you stop him? You hate me, Malfoy. Why wouldn't you want me dead?"

"Has it gotten under your skin, Potter?" The Malfoy infamous smirk reappeared across his lips. "Do I get under your skin? Bloody Hell, Potter; I never hated you."

"What?"

"Hate you," Draco replied. "Are you deaf as well as dumb? I was jealous, Potter! Don't you get it? You were always in the center of attention, nothing I did was ever good enough. I was talented at quidditch too, but no, you got special privilages and played your first year! I always got better scores than that mudblood in potions, but the only person who noticed was Snape. Do you know how many awards I got for potions? Do you know how many newspapers I was in? Hundreds! But no one cared. No one cared I had the same score as Granger on the OWLS. She was the one who got credit because she was a mudblood. No one cares when a pureblood does anything! We have to accommodate for _you_. We have to take classes about _you_. Why is it that now seventh years are required to take muggle studies, but the muggleborns are not required to take a course on purebloods?"

"What?"

"Argh! Just leave me bloody alone Potter and let me get on with my life. How did you know I was here anyway? I was going to go back to the wizarding world soon but I wanted time so I didn't use my wand…"

"I have my sources." - _otherwise known as Hermione Granger._

"Like that mudblood? Jesus Christ, Potter. Do your own work for once."

"I hate you."

"I hate you too, Potter."

"You just said you didn't," Harry couldn't help but smile as their breath mingled together.

"I lied."

"Why did you really do it?"

Draco's eyes clouded over and he frowned. "Why did I betray my family? Why did I betray a lord I had pledged my life to? Why did I stop Voldemort from killing you? Why Potter? I think you know why."

"I don't know why."

Draco Malfoy stood up to his full height and stared at Potter with a smirk. His audacity was unbelievable to the Gryffindor. After all, Draco Malfoy was still an escaped felon. Why, then, did he show such overconfidence?

Draco smirked. "No one fucks with a Malfoy and gets away from it unscathed; including psychotic wizards and saviors of the wizarding world. Remember that, Potter."

That was all he said before walking down the stone steps of the Malfoy Manor. Harry was tempted to follow him, just to see where he was going, but decided against it. Draco Malfoy, Harry knew, would make another appearance in the wizarding world and he would have to answer him.

He shivered in the rain and looked down at the grave Draco had been next to. First, Harry noticed there were no flowers next to the stone, then noticed the name. His eyes widened.

"What the--?!"

Tom Riddle — may his soul find solace in death

Harry closed his eyes. He remembered how fast everything happened. How fascinated he was about Draco Malfoy: who he was, who he is, why he did what he did. Harry wanted to know all the answers. He wanted the one person in the world able to spark passion within him. That man was walking away...

The Savior-Of-the-Wizarding-World looked at Draco and thought back to the past. Three months ago, when Harry discovered Kreacher had the locket all along, he forced him to give the locket back....

"Kreacher!" Harry shouted at the top of his lungs. The house-elf returned wearing a bitter expression, he handed Harry the golden locket and tried to apparate before he could ask anything else. However, Hermione foiled his plans.

She grabbed his arm and said, "Wait. You know the library just as well as the rest of the house, don't you? Where the the book that tells how to destroy a horcrux."

"Show it to her." Harry ordered.

Kreacher gave Hermione and Harry a glare that would have made Malfoy proud. He popped off and returned with a book. "Page thirty. That spell is the only one Master Regulus ever mentioned."

"Where was this?" Hermione asked. She took the book and read the spell out loud, she practiced the words until they were perfect. "Harry, look. The spell's description has been torn out mostly. I wonder if you-know-who knew about this."

"Kreacher?"

"... Master Riddle also knew about the spell."

"Harry, just try it!"

"We don't know how to destroy the horcrux, Ron! We don't even know if the spell will work or what it will do."

"There is no other spell, Harry... I've been researching for weeks. Not even the restricted section at Hogwarts had anything about horcrux's. Lets just try it. I mean, what could it do? Kreacher can't disobey you."

"That's true."

"Harry, just destroy it!"

"We don't know how to destroy a horcrux!"

Inside the locket, ears heard the boys angry shouts. He tried to look up, but couldn't see; he tried to move, but nothing would force his physical form to move. The locket could hear the frantic whispering of a girl telling the boys to hush and wondered what they were talking about. What were they trying to hide?

"Try something!"

Harry glared at the locket. He raised his wand and angrily shouted, "Confringo!"

"Harry, stop!"

What is happening? The locket could barely think, he could barely understand what the people were trying to do to him. He didn't even know where he was, or who he was.

"Tom." The locket imagined his voice talking aloud to himself. Tom tried to open his eyes only to find he had no control of his body. He couldn't even feel any connection to his physical form.

"My name is Tom Riddle."

Another shout from Harry reminded him of a castle he frequented as a child to learn how to use that language. The language of magic. "Hogwarts," he whispered.

"Harry, are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine."

"Harry, just try this spell. Please, it looks easy. Just move your wand like this - and say this here. Psykhe wenden heimr."

The girl sounded irritating, Tom noted. He thought of the word she used and pondered why horcrux meant so much to him. He remembered laughing with his friends about how Merlin used a piece of his soul to survive an attack on his body a woman foresaw. A flash of a group of purebloods wincing as they got matching tattoos at a muggle parlor in his teens. Another of a larger group shouting at the Ministry and holding up signs blurred in his memory.

"Psykhe wenden heimr" Harry repeated Hermione and flicked his wand.

The words Harry said were a mixture of languages influenced by magic throughout the ages. Tom recognized the spell immediately from a book he held days ago with Regulus.

"It brings the parts of the soul back to the strongest section of the soul." Regulus had told him, "But it doesn't fuse them together. The Blacks tested on muggles so often it created a muggle disease called multiple personalities."

"And ..."

"Tom, it means I don't think we should try it. We don't know how to cast the spell and create them let alone put you back together. I don't think this spell is the way to go."

Tom felt himself lift away from the hold he had on the physical body he inhabited. Glimpses of his surroundings revealed a boy with scruffy hair and large glasses. He saw a girl with equally messy hair holding her wand extended towards a locket, waiting for something to happen.

Regulus' locket.

One of the objects they decided would hold a horcrux if they used one.

The reason why he had not been able to move.

Tom knew before his soul left the room where he was going. He was going home to the most powerful part of his soul. The most powerful part of his personality. Only, he feared the strongest emotion he had was anger.

He was traveling at a fast speed toward a man without hair and red eyes. Tom didn't recognize him, but knew who he was the moment he crashed soul first into the man's brain. He let out a startled screech and threw himself down on the floor. Several men in long black robes and masks stepped away or stepped in front of their children.

Tom tried to gain control of the body, he remembered Regulus telling him about the horcrux' coming into a body had a hard time gaining control over the stronger soul piece. Regulus' was right. He barely had control of the body for a few minutes, and it was only because the soul he was fighting against let his guard down.

"My Lord?" A man stuttered on the right of him.

Tom didn't know who he was, but the constant anger he felt meant the man was in for a violent surprise. "My name is Tom Riddle," he said and surprised himself to hear his voice echo in the room. The anger intensified and forced him back into the corner of the body's mind. He had no control here, Tom was well aware of that.

A sense of dread crept into his consciousness. This was a part of himself he never let free. This monstrous anger was the part of him he bit back whenever Regulus or Lucius played a prank on him, or when the Ministry outlawed another spell purebloods used because muggleborns could not use them.

This part of him, the part these people called Voldemort, was the anger he had against the muggleborns and Ministry.

"What have I done?" He whispered.

On the other side of the door, Draco Malfoy listened to what was happening. Severus Snape paced beside him, worry etched lines into his cheeks, the dirt from the journey left him looking like a muggle hillbilly. Although the young Malfoy heir was in similar condition, he still managed to give the impression he owned the room and everything in it. Which was true. The Malfoy Manor was a sight to behold: a gigantic magically enhanced home built over five generations ago.

An hour passed by, and Draco was about to lose his calm expression and pull his hair out in frustration. The Dark Lord was furious it took them two months to get back to the Manor after the attack at Hogwarts. The attack had been a disaster from the beginning for Draco; from the Room of Requirement to contributing to Dumbledore's death - a disaster. Harry Potter, the infuriating boy-who-refused-to-die-or-get outta his business, followed him around constantly, then cut him to pieces. How dare he? Draco scratched the long scar extending from his upper right corner all the way down to his left butt cheek.

Severus gave him a weird look and look as if he were going to say something when a boy about his age barged into the room.

"You guys are off the hook."

His name was Greggory Goyle, one of Draco's loyal body guards during school. He looked unintelligent but was at the top of his class. Voldemort, Draco knew, did not realize Goyle's potential. It was obvious from the messenger job he occupied now.

"Why?" Severus asked.

"The Dark Lord is not feeling like himself." Other Deatheaters filed out of the room and out of sight until they were alone again. "He does want to talk to you, Professor."

"Very well. Meet me in the nursery later, Draco. We need to discuss your options."

What he really meant, Draco knew, was he wanted to tell him how badly he screwed up his future. Draco wasted little time displaying his anxiety to Goyle, who looked at him funny; instead, he sped to the nursery all five generations of Malfoy's spent their infancy.

The room was bare except for a large baby cradle pushed into a corner. Baby dragons mocked him as they played on the walls, they reminded him of a simpler time. A time when his back had no scars, his mind was pure, and his hands were clean.

Every Malfoy slept within the ebony wood bars for the past five generations. Draco was no different, but now the cradle was empty without a child. No baby nurtured here stayed pure. The Malfoy line was stained red just like his hands.

Snape walked up behind him and asked, "How many of them saw you?" Despite his contempt for the human race, Severus Snape was extremely fond of his godson and favorite student. When Narcissa asked him to take an unbreakable vow, he nearly refused because she knew better than anyone how far he would go for Draco. Nevertheless, the distrusting way the Malfoy's conducted everything filtered into Narcissa during the twenty years she was married to Lucius.

"Too many." Draco replied, "Mostly Gryffindors. No teachers that I know of."

"Lupin saw us leave."

"He's not a teacher anymore."

"True."

"I can't go back, can I?"

Snape paused, unsure of what information to tell the boy, then settled on the truth. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Yes you can. Your Father arranged a deal with a number of his clients and used many old debts to secure your future."

"What?" Draco's eyes widened. "How?"

"A number of respectable wizards came forward with new information. The Ministry arrested your impostor and brought him to justice."

"But, there wasn't -"

"That, Draco, was for the Ministry to decide. You are cleared of all charges."

Draco smirked and watched the dragons race after each other's tails. His Godfather put his hand on his shoulder and continued, "If you are caught again, you have no way out. It was the last thing Lucius was able to manage before he lost reputation. And you will have to take catch up classes of everything taught after Christmas break and retake your OWLS afterward. You were captured on your way back from the manor, and imprisoned until he was caught."

"I see. I'm surprised Potter didn't mention my scar -"

"You fought back before you were captured."

"Ah, I almost wish it was true."

Snape caught his shoulder as he moved to leave the nursery, he pulled Draco back to face him and stared deep into his silver eyes. "Draco, you must believe that is what happened. You must act, talk, and breathe as if everything I just told you was true. You were imprisoned and some irrelevant deatheater got into Hogwarts claiming to be you. Do you understand? You will have no friends there, no big bullies to help you. Most of the people you know won't be going back this year. I will not be there to protect you."

Draco stared back into his Godfather's beady black eyes. "I understand, Godfather."

"Good. Tomorrow, you will board the train with the rest of the students."

"What about my Mother?"

"She is on a mission in France."

Draco turned to leave, but was stopped again by Snape. This time, he handed the young Malfoy a plain wedding band made of white gold. "Uh, Sev. I don't really want to get married right now, especially not to you..."

"Its a portkey." Snape ignored Draco's joke and told him to use it when he was summoned by the Dark Lord.

"You're no fun."

Snape didn't reply.

Draco allowed his mind to wander to the other side of the war. He wondered if Dumbledore could have provided the protection he wanted, instead of being forced to play mind games with the darkest wizard in history.

On the other side of the Manor, Draco forced himself away from his thoughts when another question demanded attention. "Sev. Who helped me?"

"A few loyal clients of Lucius and an old debt being repaid."

"You already told me that, Severus. I want to know who was behind it all. I mean, mostly."

"There were three people, Draco. The Minister, Umbridge, and Arthur Weasley."

"What - Weasley?!"

He never got an answer. Snape looked as if he were about to explain when Goyle opened the door. He shut his mouth quickly and waited for Goyle to give Draco the message he was given. "The Dark Lord wants to see you, Draco." Goyle said, finally.

A cold stone settled in the bottom of his stomach. He didn't want to go see the Dark Lord, he never wanted to see that bastard ever again. "I'll go now." His voice nearly broke, but he forced himself to keep his composure in front of Snape.

Draco stiffly walked back to Lord Voldemort's chambers. He knocked on the door once, twice, then before he could knock a third time, the doors slammed open and an invisible hand threw him inside. He crashed to the floor face first in front of Voldemort.

"Ah," Voldemort chuckled. "Draco. You're still alive. Upsetting after you were so useless in your last mission."

Draco shivered, he kept his eyes to the ground.

"_Crucio_."

The young Malfoy jolted back and let out a toe curling scream. Tears rolled down his face and his arms and legs were nearly out of his control. The spell attacked every nerve in his body, sending hot flashes down his spine and frost to his legs. He felt as if every pin in the world was jabbing him, every knife, every bullet, were twisting inside his skin.

"You're task, Draco Malfoy, is to use blood magic to force an opening in the shield around Hogwarts. You will always be ready to come to me for a new assignment. Should you disobey, your parents may be very unfortunate. Remember this, Malfoy." Voldemort lifted the spell off Draco and carrassed the dark mark on his forearm. "You belong to me." His possessive look turned to one of longing, then to disgust. He thrust Draco's arm away from him and grasped his head. "Get out."

Draco didn't need to be told twice. As quickly as he came, Draco stood up on his shaking legs and ran out of the room. He didn't stop until he was back in his own bedroom, a room that was once a safe haven, but now was in the midst of a bloody war.

He looked at the posters on his walls and the various articles written about his discoveries in potions. Draco choked back a sob. "I must do this." He said. There was a part of him that wanted to go back to the days when his father helped him meddle with potions and make them better. He used to love sparring with his Father and learning what a pureblood could do that mudbloods couldn't.

"Draco! Concentrate. Nothing you try to do without a wand can happen with doubt in your mind. Logic matters little to blood magic. Your professors will tell you wandless magic is impossible, that it is rarely ever seen. They are right. It is rare, Draco."

"Then its no wonder I can't do it! Why don't you just leave me the bloody hell alone - "

Slap! Draco's head snapped back and he was thrown to the floor. His Father smirked at him. "The magic is within you, not the wand. The magic responds to your thoughts, your desires. Get up and fight back."

"But -"

An invisible hand shot out and slammed his head against the stone ground before he could protest. Lucius didn't stop until he got up and tried again to throw his Father against the wall. Draco grimaced at the memory. After he finally completed the training, he was taken to a St. Mungos under the guise he was found and couldn't remember how he got hurt. The press had a field day pretending he was beaten by his Father or kidnapped by muggles. They weren't too far off.

Blaise Zabini walked into the room a few hours later and laid down on the bed next to Draco. "Draco, it's almost time to go." He said. "Are you packed yet?"

"No."

"God, Draco. We all know how long it takes you to pack!"

"I don't care, do it for me." For a moment, Draco thought Blaise had been paralyzed by his words. His mouth and eyes were open in disbelief; Blaise pressed his hand against Draco's forehead and shook his head. "Shut up, Blaise."

They packed Draco's clothes in silence, both of them didn't want to talk about what they were getting into. Least, Draco thought Blaise understood he didn't want to talk about Hogwarts or Voldemort until he said, "The Dark Lord decided I would be going back to Hogwarts too. He said we could accomplish more together."

"That's ridiculous."

"Its better than being alone, mate. And I'd rather have you watching my back than some random sap the Dark Lord pulled into this war."

"I'm not very good at fighting. You know that."

"Yeah, but you've always been good at wordless magic. Do you think that is why he didn't kill you? You're the last pureblood able to cast complete spells without speech or a wand. Not even the Dark Lord can do that."

Draco scoffed and levitated his suitcase to follow them down that stairs. The truth was he was terrified of going back to Hogwarts. He never wanted to see inside the Room of Requirement again. He never wanted to step inside the Astronomy Tower, he didn't want to step inside the Potions classroom and remember he ruined his Godfather's life.

And yet it was starting over again. He would go outside after hours and tear the shield around Hogwarts. He would go after seeing Harry Potter glare at him with hate that went further than childhood rivalry. The fire burning in those brilliant green eyes was enough to make Draco shudder in fear. Harry Potter knew the truth of what happened on that tower, there was no doubt about it.

"Interruptus Scutum" He whispered at an invisible shield. Blaise stood next to him to make sure everything went right and lend a shoulder when he was drained of magic. Neither boy saw a boy watching them from the shadows, they were too involved with their own worries to watch behind them.

The shield sparked in defeat and Draco sank to the ground exhausted. He stuck his hand through the human size hole still burning bright red from the magic. "Its done." He said. Blaise only nodded. "The incantation should keep the magic going longer than I could without them."

"I know."

Draco shook his head. "It shouldn't have needed it."

"C'mon, Draco. Lets go back to the dorms. There are hardly any Slytherin's left so they'll notice we're missing faster."

"No," Draco said, he let his head droop in defeat. "They won't notice. We don't matter anymore. We haven't mattered for a long time. They didn't seem concerned purebloods of every house were missing, but they mentioned each mudblood that has died or were not there."

"Draco ..."

"I must do this."

"We all do."

The shield slowly stopped glowing and the moon continued to descend toward the horizon. A boy snuck away from the two purebloods and ran off into the castle to return to the Gryffindor dorms. Tomorrow would start the beginning of their last year here, Draco hoped he would be alive long enough to see the end of it.


	2. Chapter 2

The Gryffindor tower was silent in the last few moments of darkness, light barely peeked over the horizon at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. One boy watched the sunrise in a sense of peace he felt only during the morning after a long night of terror. Harry Potter stared at the landscape without his glasses to unblur the lines of the scenery.

Neville and Ron snored in their sleep, their noses were the only things making sounds to disrupted the silence. Harry looked at Neville and wondered what he was hiding from everyone; after all, no Gryffindor is out past curfew for no reason. Least, that was how it had always seemed to him.

Down below, Harry saw a yellow blob running around the outside of the lake. He frowned, unaware anyone else was awake, and put on his glasses. He didn't see who it was before the yellow blob disappeared from his view. "Who..." He whispered.

Fifteen minutes later, Harry saw the blob appear again. He reached for his glasses quickly to get a good look at the mystery blob. Draco Malfoy's blond hair bounced as he jogged around the perimeter of the lake wearing a green tank top and black sweatpants. He stopped to catch his breath and stretch his back out. Harry felt his stomach heat up like an oven full of anger over the events of the previous year.

"Oi, Malfoy!" Harry yelled from the window. The Slytherin Prince looked around to see who called him, but didn't see Harry up in the Gryffindor tower. "Malfoy!"

Draco looked up at Harry and scowled at him. Out of the hundreds of people who hated him, Draco Malfoy was one of the few willing to flip him off and shout obscure things before stomping back to his dorm. Even after the incident with Draco, time went by quickly like every other morning before. It wasn't too long till Harry was fighting with Ron about who got to use the shower first, it never occurred to Harry to take it before they woke up. This way, they would not question why he was up early enough to avoid the hassle.

"Hey, Hermione." Harry asked at breakfast. "How many miles is the lake if you run around it?"

"One, why?"

"Curious."

Hermione gave him a look which meant she'd ask him again later and went back to her eggs. The table was filled with an assortment of breakfast foods from across the country. At the other end of the hall Malfoy picked at his food, he barely ate. Harry glared at Malfoy until Ron looked over to see what he was looking at. "Harry, Mate. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, why?"

"You're staring at Malfoy, that's all."

"I think he's up to something."

"Oh, Harry. That's what you said last year -"

"And I was right! Don't say the he was cleared of the charges or that it wasn't him because it was! I saw what happened that night, not you, not Fudge. I know Malfoy was the one on the tower that night, not some impostor. You can't fake that."

Harry slammed his hands against the table and got up to leave, he ignored his friends walking beside him and shoved past Draco to get out of the Great Hall. He hadn't noticed the young Malfoy trying to leave at the same time he did.

"Potter!" Draco got up off the floor and dusted himself off. "Watch where you're going. Bloody hell, they haven't cleaned this floor in months - stupid house elves..."

"Mr. Malfoy." Behind them, a woman forced her wrinkled skin to form a smile at Draco. Her hair was up in a tight bun as if she were trying to stretch the wrinkles out of her face, but that as impossible. Harry saw Draco stifle a laugh at the new professor. "Please behave yourself or I will have to take action."

"What?" She walked away without answering Harry or Draco's open mouthed response to her strange statement. Draco scoffed and asked, "Who's that old coot?"

"The new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. I hear she has a lot of experience with the Ministry and fought against Deatheaters."

"No one asked you, mudblood."

"Shut -"

Hermione put her hand in front of Ron to make him stop talking. "Malfoy, you haven't changed at all, have you?"

"No."

Nothing more was needed. Nothing else was said. The Slytherins parted ways from the Gryffindors to head toward their first class, and Harry was stunned. He wondered, not for the first time, how Draco Malfoy had enough confidence to speak to everyone the way he did.

But, maybe it wasn't confidence at all.

He pushed back his thoughts of Draco Malfoy and turned his attention to ignoring his teachers without looking suspicious. Harry thought he had gotten though an entire day without another run in with the two Slytherins left to annoy him to death, but when he arrived at DADA he realized something was going to happen. The way Professor Cotter, the new teacher for DADA, looked at Draco reminded him of a lion that found his prey. She glided to her place in the front of the class and waited for everyone to quiet down.

"Does anyone know what blood magic is?" No one, not even Hermione, answered. "Ms. Granger?"

"I - I don't know."

Draco and Blaise both scoffed at the other side of the room and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like: "Bet that's the first question she hasn't known in six years."

"Mr. Malfoy?"

He paused. "I don't know."

"None sense. I'm sure your Father taught you plenty of blood magic. Tell us what it is, dear."

"Blood magic is magic that is gained from the magical components in purebloods, not muggleborns. The ability to control such magic is difficult for halfbloods and impossible for muggleborns. Purebloods learn this language of magic much faster than common wand-based spells - which require only the ability to control the magical components present in the wand. Muggleborns cannot use blood magic simply because it is not in their blood to do so. Halfborns are more fluent in wand-based magic, but occasionally they are skilled in the art."

"Fifteen points from Slytherin for knowing blood magic."

"What?!" Blaise stood up but was stopped by Draco.

"And why am I able to take points away for knowing that, hmm Mr. Malfoy?"

"Because the ministry outlawed it fifty years ago since it was unfair to muggleborns."

"No, Mr. Malfoy. They banned blood magic because it is dangerous. It is too powerful for only a small group of people to have. Your Father is a prime example of what happens when you use too much blood magic."

Suddenly, Draco was on his feet ready to lash out at the old woman. He glared at her through his silver eyes and said, "What happened to my Father had nothing to do with blood magic. If anything, it was his blood that kept him out of the Minstry's grubby hands!"

"Mr. Malfoy! Sit down. You know as well as I do the consequences for using unforgivables. And blood magic, Mr. Malfoy, is unforgivable."

"Only because you and your precious Ministry wanted a bunch of muggleborns to be integrated into our society! Its bloody ridiculous! Why do we have to change for them?"

Ron shuffled his feet and bit his bottom lip to stifle the thoughts bubbling in his head. He looked over at Hermione, who looked shocked Draco would say muggle borns were forcing purebloods to change.

"Malfoy," Harry hissed. "That's a bunch of bullshit."

"Yeah!" Shouted a chorus of muggleborns and halfbloods. The purebloods from both houses were silent, some secretly agreed with the young Malfoy but did not want to make their friends angry. A few of the other seventh year Slytherins stood up next to Draco and defended him by shouting their argument at the Gryffindors. Hermione stood up next to Harry and joined the fight - Ron, however, did not. He stared at the ground until he worried he burned a hole in the ground. He touched Hermione's hand lightly.

She stopped shouting and looked down at her childhood friend. His eyes were torn between the electricity they felt, his Father's desire to keep him out of pureblood culture, and his need to stand up for a culture he felt connected to. Arther Weasley, despite his obsession with muggles, was still a pureblood. He taught his children to not care, but remember the old ways. Ron Weasley was a pureblood living in the present. Draco Malfoy was a pureblood stuck in the past.

"Harry," she tugged on his shoulder.

"Mr. Malfoy!" Professor Cotter drew her wand and sent Draco flying into the wall. He was hanging against the wall above ground while being pressed further into it. Suddenly, Draco's face contorted in pain and he started to screaming and attempting to curl up into a ball. The Dark Mark on his forearm burned the nerves through his entire body, sending sparks of continuous pain to his brain.

"Let him go!" Blaise shouted. He drew his wand and pointed it at the Professor in desperation. "Let him go now!" His protest was short-lived, the Mark on Blaise's arm sent a tremor to his arm, forcing the wand from his fingers. He collapsed to the ground in terror, Blaise closed his eyes against the magnitude of urgency the Dark Lord sent to them. He was angry, Blaise thought through the pain.

"Class, get out of here. I will deal with this."

Even though the students didn't say it, everyone knew what had just happened. The Dark Lord was calling his loyal minions to him, he was calling Draco and Blaise.

Professor Cotter released the spell on Draco as soon as Harry walked out the door and closed it. She smirked and knelt down next to his huddled, whimpering body. "Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy. It seems you have the dark mark after all. I knew the moment you stepped in this classroom, I could smell it. It won't get you kicked out of here, unfortunately."

"And why is that."

"Hm, how strange. It seems you can talk after such a calling as that. I've never seen one cause so much pain ... Are you weak, or was he angry?"

"You know an awful lot about Dark Marks, even for a former auror." Blaise stumbled over to Draco and helped him sit up. Draco smirked at the Professor, "It makes it seem as if you have you yourself."

Smack! Professor Cotter backhanded the young Malfoy heir so he fell back against Blaise's chest. His cheek turned a bright red. "I do not have the Dark Mark."

"I've drank tea with Greyback, Professor. Trust me, nothing you do here scares me. There are only three people who scare me now."

"Really, and who is that?"

"Can't tell." Draco groaned, he clutched his stinging arm. "Too much of a blow to my ego. Its time for my next class, Professor Cotter."

She pursed her lips as if deciding whether or not to let him leave with Blaise; finally, she said, "Detention. Tonight after dinner."

Draco didn't reply to her. He managed to stand up on his shaky legs, the two boys struggled to stay up together for a few minutes but managed to walk by themselves. It was awkward to walk on legs that felt exhausted from over stimulation. Their nerves still stung.

Harry Potter was still standing outside the classroom pressing his ear against the door. When Draco opened it, Harry fell forward into him - knocking both Draco and Blaise back to the ground. "Jesus, Potter! Didn't I tell you to watch where you're bloody going?" Draco attempted to push Harry off him, but his arms refused to get enough strength to even move him.

The savior of the wizarding world looked at Draco in a way that made a rush of adrenaline pool in his gut. A strange mixture of hate and pity swirled within his emerald eyes. Pity... Harry Potter pitied him.

"Get off me, Potter." Draco hissed. "Get the fucking bloody hell off me right now or I'll curse you into oblivion. Remember those blood spell we talked about in there? I know several of them that can cut you to pieces like you did to me last year, but I'd do worse. I'll cut off your damn baby making tool with one foul, painful swipe."

"Last year..." The pity in Harry's eyes turned to hatred and realization. "You weren't here last year, remember?"

"I heard about it."

"Liar."

"Draco, you must believe that is what happened. You must act, talk, and breathe as if everything I just told you was true. You were imprisoned and some irrelevant deatheater got into Hogwarts claiming to be you. Do you understand?"

Draco closed his eyes to the memory. What Snape said was true, and he knew even as he lied to make his Godfather feel better that he could not do it. The memories from last year were too vivid, too hard to forget. He couldn't forget the warmth of his blood seeping through the cuts in his stomach and back, nor could he forget Harry's horrified face.

He stayed silent for so long Harry finally threw up his hands and cursed at him. Draco didn't reply to him, he kept his head bowed low with the hope Harry would forget what he said. Of course that was impossible.

Hermione must have convinced Harry to leave, because Harry turned and left with her to go to his next class. Ron Weasley stayed behind for a few minutes and said, "I understand what you meant, Malfoy. It doesn't mean I agree with you, but I get it." With that, Ron turned and ran after his friends.

Draco chuckled. "Ron Weasley understands me?"

"Hey, its possible -"

"Don't you have another class to go to?" Professor Cotter sneered from behind them. "Get going, you're holding up the rest of the students."

"Professor, what house were you in?"

"Gryffindor, why?"

Draco walked away from her without answering and looked over at Blaise. "The Gryffindors need to understand the Slytherins are not the only people on the Dark Lord's side." He looked over at the Golden Trio, Draco's eyes wandered over to Ron. "Houses don't matter anymore. That Weasleys may be fools, but they are still purebloods. Come Blaise, we must report to the Dark Lord."

For a moment, Blaise looked as if he were about to protest, but the stinging feeling in his arm cut his words short. He nodded and headed out with Draco towards the hole in the shield. Neville sat on the steps of the castle watching them leave Hogwarts. He didn't say anything to the two oblivious Slytherins, but he frowned.

Cunning, ambitious, shrewd, power-hungry, and brave but not stupid were qualities of the Slytherin House according to the sorting hat. However, Neville watched them leave the safety of the castle while thinking:

The hat never said they were an observant bunch.

Blaise and Draco arrived at the Manor in disarray, both from using a portkey to get inside an heavily guarded manor and the experience of portkey use at all. His blond hair was ruffled and looked like he just rolled out of bed; Blaise, however, looked well except his clothes were not straight. "You both look like you just shagged."

"Pansy!"

She was not the natural image of beauty, but even with her pudgy hips Pansy made herself look as if she were a model. Her black deatheater robes were adorned with jewelry, Blaise rolled his eyes when he saw the Weasley is our King button on her shirt, and her rings sparkled and glowed. Blaise wrapped his arms around her tightly, he refused to let go for several minutes in a rush of touching and kisses that left Draco aching for a relationship.

"You're late." She giggled and put her fingers to Blaise's lips. "He wants to see you Draco."

"Really?"

"Yes, but don't ask me why. He was really angry you weren't here immediately but Sev calmed him down by saying you had school and couldn't look suspicious."

"Not Blaise?"

"No, not Blaise. I was told to fill him in on the details of our mission, but the Dark Lord wanted to tell you himself. Even after Sev calmed him down he was seething. Kind of reminded me of you when you pout."

"Pansy... are you sure you should talk like this about him?"

"I can talk however I'd like. He's too busy being angry to notice anyhow."

"Um, Pansy -"

"Get outta here now, Draco. I told you he was really angry -"

Before she could finish, Severus Snape slammed the door open looking as if he were about to strangle someone. His eyes found Draco and he softened. "Draco, the Dark Lord wants to see you."

"I've heard. Thank you Sev."

Snape nodded and held the door open for Draco to head for Voldemort's chambers. He walked slowly and reminded himself he was doing this for his parents, not himself, it was for his parents. Whatever "unfortunate" event Voldemort had planned for them was terrifying and unimaginable. Draco was about to knock on the door again when his fact was slammed into the door and he was hurled against the opposite wall. Voldemort's eyes burned bright red as he commanded, "Crucio."

Draco bit his lip to try and stop the scream that erupted from his already raw throat. His eyes stung and his body felt as if fire were attacking every cell in his body; he screamed until his voice became hoarse, and tried to stop by biting into his sleeve. Draco sobbed in a ball on the ground, but once the spell was lifted he did not stop. The tears refused to stop, the convulsions from the spell continued to force his body into action.

"Shh, Draco." Voldemort knelt next to him and lift him into his arms. "Its okay. Ar- Arggh - Get out." He was pushed roughly to the floor and forced to stand up.

"What?" Draco trembled under the strain of standing.

"Get out!"

Voldemort flicked his wand at the door, throwing Draco out of his with more force than he pulled him into his chambers. Draco crashed through the doors and collided with Goyle in a mass of limbs and pain. "Professor!" Goyle screamed. Snape appeared within moments beside Draco and lifted him into his arms. He did not push him away like Draco feared he would, instead, a warmth flooded his body from Snape.

"Shh, it's okay, Draco. I'll help you."

No, Draco wanted to say. His voice refused to tell Snape it wasn't okay. Nothing was okay. And he knew deep down, nothing would ever be okay again.

**Authors Note: If you see any errors, which I'm sure there are a few... if not many ... just let me know. If anything doesn't make sense, I'd love to know what it is and I'll find a way to fix it. =D**

**I hope you all like it. R&R**


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